List of Famous people who died at 72

Yukio Endō was a Japanese artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 1964 he won the first individual all-around Olympic gold medal for Japan. He was the flag bearer at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Bertel Lauring was a Danish film actor. He appeared in 36 films between 1953 and 1981. He was born in Frederiksberg, Denmark and died in Denmark.

George Hurdalek was a German screenwriter. He wrote for 41 films between 1934 and 1975. He was born in Görlitz, Germany and died in Munich, Germany.

Lincoln Kilpatrick was an American film, television, and stage actor.

George Pal was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after emigrating from Europe.

Vojtěch Jarník was a Czech mathematician who worked for many years as a professor and administrator at Charles University, and helped found the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. He is the namesake of Jarník's algorithm for minimum spanning trees.

Otto Herman Max Brandenburg was a Danish musician, singer and actor.

Peter Bennett was a British stage and television actor. He had served on both the National Council for Drama Training and the British Actors' Equity Association.